Beijing -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Families of Chinese passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have engaged in a rare late-night act of civil disobedience in this tightly-controlled city .

After unsuccessfully demanding a meeting with the Malaysian ambassador at their hotel for more than eight hours , angry relatives pushed past police officers who tried to stop them from making a midnight march across the Chinese capital . Their destination : the Malaysian Embassy .

`` The ambassador kept saying he would come but he never showed , '' an elderly man told CNN as he and scores of others walked quietly through Beijing 's streets . As has been the practice of many other Chinese passengers ' next of kin , the man asked not to publish his name .

`` They 're lying . They 're lying to us , '' the man repeated . `` And now we 're going to the embassy . If they wo n't come to us , we 'll go to them . ''

The surreal late-night procession was followed closely by police squad cars .

Around midnight , more than one hundred relatives staged a pre-dawn sit-in outside the embassy gates .

Though vastly out-numbered by Chinese security forces , the family members continued their stubborn vigil throughout the morning . They remained camped out by the diplomatic mission more than 15 hours later .

Periodically , they chanted `` Fulfill your commitments ! No more delays ! No more lies ! '' Throughout the sit-in , no Malaysian diplomat came out to meet with protesters .

The demonstrators finally dispersed peacefully before sunset on Friday , after camping out by the diplomatic mission for more than 17 hours .

The small gathering departed after delivering a letter of protest to the embassy demanding an explanation for how the prime minister of Malaysia has concluded that the plane ended its flight over the Indian Ocean .

Broken promises

For weeks , distraught next of kin have requested face-to-face meetings with Malaysian officials . They are demanding a briefing on details of the last moments before Flight 370 was believed to have disappeared over the Indian Ocean . In the absence of information from Malaysian authorities , many relatives continue to believe their missing loved ones are still alive .

On several occasions within the last two weeks , Malaysian officials in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur publicly pledged to meet the Chinese families within a matter of 24 hours , but then failed to show up for talks .

`` We just want them to stop breaking their promises again and again , '' said Steven Wang , a spokesman for the families , whose mother went missing when the Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8 .

He spoke to CNN in a `` journalist 's area '' located out of sight of the Malaysian Embassy protest . Even at the early hour of 1 a.m. on Friday , Chinese police had cordoned off an area for media around the corner from the sit-in . During the day , security forces continued to prevent journalists from reaching the families .

Public protests are extremely rare in China . The Malaysia Airlines crisis , which has involved the highly emotional disappearance of 153 Chinese nationals who were on board the plane , has put Chinese authorities in an uncomfortable position .

The Chinese government has tolerated -- but stopped far short of endorsing -- the political mobilization of the flight 's next of kin . Families have organized committees , issued press releases , and printed t-shirts and hats with the slogan `` Pray for MH370 . '' But they have also been largely prevented from organizing public displays outside the windowless hotel conference room that serves as the families ' improvised headquarters .

On Friday a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry , Qin Gang , called on the families protesting outside the embassy to `` express their appeals in a legal and rational way '' while pledging to give them further assistance . He urged the Malaysian authorities to `` actively '' pursue the investigation .

EXCLUSIVE : Malaysia to release MH370 report , Prime Minister tells CNN

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MH370 families hold sit-in outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing

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Relatives marched from their hotel after request to meet Malaysian ambassador failed

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More than once in recent weeks Malaysian authorities have not shown up for talks with relatives

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NEW : China appeals to protesters to express concerns in `` legal and rational way ''